Monday, January 28, 2013
Benn's return
By Luke Lapinski
UPDATE: According to Mike Heika, Jamie Benn should be good to go for tonight's tilt with Columbus and is likely to slot in on the top line with Loui Eriksson and Jaromir Jagr. That gives Dallas it's most dangerous weapon and a very skilled No. 1 line just in time to square off with a struggling Blue Jackets team.
---The good news for Dallas Stars fans is that Jamie Benn is finally signed. The bad news -- temporary as it is -- is that his debut could potentially get pushed back another game because of visa issues. Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News explained the scenario this way:
"Benn is a resident of Canada and must apply for a work visa to work in the United States. Because he was not allowed to apply for the work visa until he had a signed contract, the application for that visa was not submitted until Friday. Because the government offices are not open on the weekend, the work visa still has not been granted."
This should all get resolved in a hurry, but timing is of the essence here -- especially with the condensed schedule. The Stars have games both tonight (in Columbus) and tomorrow (in Detroit), kicking off a pivotal stretch of 10 games in 19 days -- eight of which are on the road. The organization is confident the situation will be ironed out today and, even if there is a slight delay, it shouldn't be long at all. But the quicker this all gets resolved, the better. Dallas added some key vets in the offseason, but Benn is still clearly the main weapon in town. The team would obviously prefer to get him back into a normal routine with his teammates as soon as possible.
